Being the Continuing Adventures of a Woman and her Trusty Kayak in New York Harbor, the Hudson River, and Beyond.
(with occasional political rants just to keep things lively!)

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Only Paddling Race In The Country Held Entirely On a Superfund Site - Saturday, June 15th

Photos by Rob Buchanan, taken during the summer intensive workshop he's teaching at the New School, "Environmental Action and Research: NYC Waterways". More info and links at the end!

Yes, you read that title right, and the organizers couldn't be prouder. From their own website:
The race is historic because, to the best of our knowledge… this is the first race where entire course, and the ensuing awards banquet will be held completely on a US Government sanctioned Superfund site. We were unable to get USOC sanctioning, so we'll settle for EPA. The race and lunch party are on June 15th 2013 and we challenge all other boathouses to field teams, and independent kayakers to come on their own and join the fun!

Now how's that for some good Brooklyn chutzpah? Go Dredgers!

The race is a 2.5 mile round trip from the Gowanus Dredgers boathouse to the mouth of the canal and back. It's open to all human powered vessels and the start is scheduled for 11:00 am. Should be tons of fun to either participate or just watch from the shore and cheer the paddlers and rowers along.

For full information, visit their website at www.gowanuscanal.org - click to go there. BTW, it is a fundraiser so if you're a fan of the Dredgers or just think this crazy race is a fun idea, you can pick a team and put a little money their way - gear costs money, safety and first aid training for guides doesn't always come cheap, and they offer free trips on the Gowanus all summer. Every bit helps!

I STILL haven't paddled the Gowanus, this blog about urban boating desperately needs a post about paddling the Gowanus Canal. That almost certainly won't be this weekend, I let this one sneak up on me, best I expect I can manage is spectating and picture-taking (which I'd actually love to do, and not paddling means I can bring the good camera) -- but maybe sometime this summer. Sorry about the short notice, if I did this professionally I think I'd have to fire myself -- or at least give myself a good dressing-down -- for always doing this!

More info and links re Rob's summer intensive, plus an excellent local-info site that he maintains:Click here for more info on the program. Also, if you haven't visited it before, Rob's been maintaining a fantastic site about the little pocket beaches that are all over NYC (if you just know where to look) for years. I think his site was among the inspirations for the NYC Watertail (see Trip Planning Tools in the sidebar for a link) and it's just gotten better over time. Click here to visit newyorkharborbeaches.org.